DOCSLIB.ORG

From Juneteenth to Reconstruction: the Promise of Equality

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
From Juneteenth to Reconstruction: the Promise of Equality Elementary School | Grades 3–5 FROM JUNETEENTH TO RECONSTRUCTION: THE PROMISE OF EQUALITY ESSENTIAL QUESTION How did new opportunities inspire Black people to turn hope into achievement during Reconstruction? OBJECTIVES Students will: → Explore the historical importance of Juneteenth and ways in which it is observed today. → Discuss the meaning of Reconstruction and how it relates to the history of enslavement. → Produce a work product that reflects their learning about one aspect of Reconstruction, such as education, the growth of Black communities or the right to vote and run for elected office. LEARNING STANDARDS See the standards alignment chart to learn how this lesson supports New Jersey State Standards. TIME NEEDED 60 minutes MATERIALS → All Different Now: Juneteenth, the First → Booker T. Washington Route Map Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson handout (copies for 1–2 small groups) (one copy of the book or access to → Nicodemus: The First Black online read-aloud: https://www.you- Community West of the Mississippi tube.com/watch?v=rRlExoTfm3g) handout (copies for 1–2 small groups) → Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young → The First Black Members of Congress Booker T. Washington by Jabari Asim handout (copies for 1–2 small groups) (multiple copies of the book or access to online read-aloud: https://www.you- → Drawing paper and implements tube.com/watch?v=HZ7OYUDVWBE) → Different colored sticky notes VOCABULARY 13th Amendment emancipation homestead Union 14th Amendment Emancipation Juneteenth U.S. Congress Proclamation 15th Amendment plantation U.S. Constitution enslaved amendment Reconstruction 4 Procedures 3 Write “Juneteenth” on the board. Have students do a 1 turn-and-talk to discuss what they know about this term, and allow a few volunteers to share their thoughts with the class. Read aloud the book 2 Day of Freedom, by Angela Johnson, (or show the online NOTE read-aloud at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRlExoT- tells the fm3g). Discuss the following questions as you read: → → How did the local people react to the news of freedom? How did their reactions make you feel? → The author says that the people ate, laughed and told stories “as a free people.” How do you think ordinary after the news of freedom? → What do you think the people were thinking as the celebration? → What do you think the people did the next day, week or month? How do you think they transformed their lives → What individuals or groups of people do you know about in today’s world who have to adapt to big now” for those people? Tell students that Juneteenth marks the beginning of a 3 period called Reconstruction. Explain that in the years following the end of slavery, Black people took advantage of their new freedoms and rights to get an education, build new communities and job opportunities, vote and THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA 5 Set up learning stations as described below. (Depending 4 on your class size, you may want to create two stations NOTE for each activity.) Tell students that they will choose one activity to help them learn more about Reconstruction and some of the ways in which Black people improved their lives following the end of slavery. Form groups based upon students’ interests and have them complete the station activities. Circulate and guide students as they work. STATION WORK TOPIC MATERIALS INSTRUCTIONS → → → → → → → → 6 If time allows, create small groups of students who 3 5 work with each other. Conclude the lesson by gathering the class and discussing some of the questions below. Discussion Questions 1 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES 2 + 3 + 4 5 + Lesson Extensions + - ↗ Assign students to do additional research on the history of Juneteenth and the way it is celebrated today, including conducting interviews with community members, if appropriate. + Then have them plan a Juneteenth school observance, which might include designing informative posters, delivering a multimedia presentation on the story of Juneteenth, reading or telling stories about the holiday and organizing a picnic or luncheon with red foods (symbolizing resilience). ↗ Have students read picture books about Reconstruction and then create their own picture book featuring the accomplishments and progress of Black people during this era. Recommended books include: The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch by Chris Barton; Ellen’s Broom by Kelly Lyons and Daniel Minter; and Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town by A. LaFaye. THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA 7 HANDOUT Booker T. Washington Route Map NAME: Read about Washington’s 500-mile journey from his home in West Virginia to Hampton Institute in Virginia. This historically Black university was created in 1868 to provide education to former enslaved people. As you read, think about the challenges Washington faced and the accomplishments he achieved. Sketch or write about at least two challenges and two accomplishments on sticky notes and attach them to the route map. THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA 8 HANDOUT Nicodemus: The First Black Community West of the Mississippi NAME: and places from the reading. After the Civil War, many Black people wished to leave the places where they had been enslaved and start life anew. At that time, the U.S. government was giving away plots of land called “homesteads” to people who agreed to settle and farm them. Two men—a Black minis- ter named W.H. Smith and a white land developer named W.R. Hill— decided to start a new community in Kansas. The state had declared itself free in 1861 and was far from the plantations of the South. They Now that they had a town, Hill and Smith set out to convince people to move there. They received help from Benjamin “Pap” Singleton, a carpenter from Tennessee. Pap traveled far and wide, handing out start. Pap couldn’t read or write himself, but he was an enthusiastic “Moses of the Colored Exodus” (exit), and those who followed were called “Exodusters.” Before long more than 300 settlers from Kentucky headed to Nicodemus, though many turned back when the land was. One of the set- tlers, Williana Hickman, remem- bered her reaction this way: “When we got in sight of Nicodemus the men shouted, ‘There is Nicode- mus!’ Being very sick, I hailed this news with gladness. I looked with all the eyes I had. I said, ‘Where is Nico- demus? I don’t see it.’ My husband pointed out various smokes coming out of the ground and said, ‘That is Nicodemus.’ The families lived in dugouts… The scenery was not at all inviting, and I began to cry.” THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA 9 HANDOUT Nicodemus: The First Black Community West of the Mississippi (continued) Soon the settlers built houses from sod, the grassy surface of the SOURCES: “Ho For Kansas!” April 14, 1878. Copyprint of handbill. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., approached, they didn’t have enough tools, seed or money. They https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam009. html#obj9. Early Area Homestead—Nicodemus Historic with help from Native Americans. As time went on, the townspeople District, Nicodemus, Graham County, KS. Photocopy of Historic Photograph. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., http://hdl.loc.gov/ shops. By 1880, there were 500 people living in Nicodemus, which loc.pnp/hhh.ks0077/photos.069503p. grew to include an ice cream parlor, hotels, two newspapers and Legends of America. “Nicodemus—A Black Pioneer Town.” https://www.legendsofamerica. even a baseball team. com/ks-nicodemus. National Park Service. “Kansas: Nicodemus Today, Nicodemus is a National Historic Site and only about 20 people National Historic Site.” https://www.nps.gov/ live in the tiny town. Every July the residents hold a homecoming for articles/nicodemus.htm. Washington Street Showing First Stone Church and Williams General Store—Nicodemus Historic faced by those former enslaved people and the bravery it took for District, Nicodemus, Graham County, KS. C. 1885. Photocopy of Historic Photograph. Library of them to build a new life on the frontier. Congress, Washington, D.C., http://hdl.loc.gov/ loc.pnp/hhh.ks0077/photos.069504p. 10 HANDOUT The First Black Members of Congress NAME: Read the information below and study the portrait “The First Black Members of Congress.” Choose one person to learn about using the links on this handout. Then create a one-paragraph campaign speech for him. Include one detail about his background, one personal quality and one way he will improve his country. The United States Constitution sets forth the laws and rights that are most important to our country. An amendment is a change or addition to the Constitution. After the Civil War, three major amendments were passed: → The 13th Amendment, approved in 1865, ended slavery in the United States. → The 14th Amendment, approved in 1868, gave citizenship to all people born in the U.S., including former enslaved people. → The 15th Amendment, approved in 1870, gave Black men the right to vote. Once Black men were able to vote, they worked to elect members of their own communities to public United States Congress. Their presence in government did not last long, though, due to resistance among many white people and discrimination against Black people in the voting process. Women would not win the right to vote until 1920, and a Black woman would not be elected to Congress until 1969— Black Americans in Congress (If an article is long or challenging, scan for the facts you need rather than trying to read the entire page.) BlackPast https://www.blackpast.org 5 Former Slaves Turned Statesmen https://www.history.com/news/5-former-slaves-turned-statesmen THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA 11 HANDOUT The First Black Members of Congress (continued) SOURCE: The First Colored Senator and Representatives—in the 41st and 42nd Congress of the United States. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.17564.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Social Studies Mini-Unit the Reconstruction Era
    Social Studies Mini-Unit The Reconstruction Era Goal: These lessons focus on both national and local personal narratives from the Reconstruction Period. Let these stories help you decide what characteristics a community, a leader or an individual would need during this time period. Materials: Computer with internet, writing materials Instruction: Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Period began within our country an immense new chapter for social reform with the definition of freedom for debate. People began to rebuild the South and try to unite the states, but newly freed persons were seeking ways to build their own futures in a still hostile environment. Dive into these lessons to learn more about individuals of the time. Lesson 1: Lincoln Originals This online exhibition features digital scans of primary historical documents in Abraham Lincoln’s hand, or signed by him, drawn from the diverse manuscript holdings at Cincinnati Museum Center. 1. Explore the Lincoln Originals Online Exhibit 2. Read the Emancipation Proclamation Fact Sheet [linked here] a. Extension: Review the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments which are considered the Reconstruction Amendments. 3. Journal Entry: What characteristics defined President Lincoln? a. Write a persuasive argument in the form of a letter addressed to a past president (or the current administration) outlining an important issue and what you believe the correct course of action is and why. Cite evidence to support your case. 4. Extension Option: Research Lincoln’s Ten-Percent Plan, a plan for reconstruction, versus the Wade-Davis Bill, which was a Radical Republican plan for reconstruction. Explore the similarities and differences of these two documents.
    [Show full text]
  • H.Doc. 108-224 Black Americans in Congress 1870-2007
    “The Negroes’ Temporary Farewell” JIM CROW AND THE EXCLUSION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM CONGRESS, 1887–1929 On December 5, 1887, for the first time in almost two decades, Congress convened without an African-American Member. “All the men who stood up in awkward squads to be sworn in on Monday had white faces,” noted a correspondent for the Philadelphia Record of the Members who took the oath of office on the House Floor. “The negro is not only out of Congress, he is practically out of politics.”1 Though three black men served in the next Congress (51st, 1889–1891), the number of African Americans serving on Capitol Hill diminished significantly as the congressional focus on racial equality faded. Only five African Americans were elected to the House in the next decade: Henry Cheatham and George White of North Carolina, Thomas Miller and George Murray of South Carolina, and John M. Langston of Virginia. But despite their isolation, these men sought to represent the interests of all African Americans. Like their predecessors, they confronted violent and contested elections, difficulty procuring desirable committee assignments, and an inability to pass their legislative initiatives. Moreover, these black Members faced further impediments in the form of legalized segregation and disfranchisement, general disinterest in progressive racial legislation, and the increasing power of southern conservatives in Congress. John M. Langston took his seat in Congress after contesting the election results in his district. One of the first African Americans in the nation elected to public office, he was clerk of the Brownhelm (Ohio) Townshipn i 1855.
    [Show full text]
  • Annotated Bibliography -- Trailtones
    Annotated Bibliography -- Trailtones Part Three: Annotated Bibliography Contents: Abdul, Raoul. Blacks in Classical Music. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1977. [Mentions Tucson-born Ulysses Kay and his 'New Horizons' composition, performed by the Moscow State Radio Orchestra and cited in Pravda in 1958. His most recent opera was Margeret Walker's Jubilee.] Adams, Alice D. The Neglected Period of Anti-Slavery n America 1808-1831. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith, 1964. [Charts the locations of Colonization groups in America.] Adams, George W. Doctors in Blue: the Medical History of the Union Army. New York: Henry Schuman, 1952. [Gives general information about the Civil War doctors.] Agee, Victoria. National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States. Teanack, New Jersey: Chadwick Healy, 1983. [The Black History collection is cited . Also found are: Mexico City Census counts, Arizona Indians, the Army, Fourth Colored Infantry, New Mexico and Civil War Pension information.] Ainsworth, Fred C. The War of the Rebellion Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. General Index. [Volumes I and Volume IV deal with Arizona.] Alwick, Henry. A Geography of Commodities. London: George G. Harrop and Co., 1962. [Tells about distribution of workers with certain crops, like sugar cane.] Amann, William F.,ed. Personnel of the Civil War: The Union Armies. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1961. [Gives Civil War genealogy of the Black Regiments that moved into Arizona from the United States Colored troops.] American Folklife Center. Ethnic Recordings in America: a Neglected Heritage. Washington: Library of Congress, 1982. [Talks of the Black Sacred Harping Singing, Blues & Gospel and Blues records of 1943- 66 by Mike Leadbetter.] American Historical Association Annual Report.
    [Show full text]
  • Photo I: Benjamin "Pap" Singleton Source: Painter After the Kansas State Historical Society 5
    4 Benjamin "Pap" Singleton (Kansas Stale Historical Society) Photo I: Benjamin "Pap" Singleton Source: Painter after the Kansas State Historical Society 5 COLONIZING AFRICAN AMERICAN PLACES IN KANSAS 1857-1885 by Kay Ellen Weller Reason for the study Several African American colonies were established in Kansas between 1857 and 1885. Few people know much, ifanything,aboutmost of these colonies because little was recorded in the local media about them at the time. Nicodemus is the one exception. In 1998 it became a National Historic Site thus receiving much attention from the media. Because scholarly research about these colonies is so scant it is important to study them from a geographic perspective. This paper attempts to do that by answering the following questions: 1) Where were Kansas African American colonies located between 1857 and 1885?; 2) Why did African Americans want to relocate from their homes in the south to Kansas?; 3) What was the state of nativity of the Kansas African American colonist in specific colonies?; 4) Why did most Kansas African American colonies disappear? Conditions in the south and reasons to emigrate The Civil War, although a war of unification, became a war to free slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation ofJanuary 1, 1863. 1 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April 9, 1865, thus ending the war of four years. The South was left with an infrastructure in shambles and shortages of raw materials and manpower. Poverty and suffering noricul Society) Kay Weller is a Professor of Geography at the University of Northern Iowa.
    [Show full text]
  • A Light in Darkness, Oscar Micheaux: Entrepreneur Intellectual Agitator Airic Hughes University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
    University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 7-2015 A Light in Darkness, Oscar Micheaux: Entrepreneur Intellectual Agitator Airic Hughes University of Arkansas, Fayetteville Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, African History Commons, American Film Studies Commons, and the American Literature Commons Recommended Citation Hughes, Airic, "A Light in Darkness, Oscar Micheaux: Entrepreneur Intellectual Agitator" (2015). Theses and Dissertations. 1317. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1317 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. A Light in Darkness, Oscar Micheaux: Entrepreneur Intellectual Agitator A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History By Airic Hughes University of Arkansas Bachelor of Arts in History and African and African American Studies, 2011 July 2015 University of Arkansas This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council. __________________ Dr. Calvin White Thesis Director __________________ __________________ Dr. Pearl Ford Dowe Dr. James Gigantino Committee Member Committee Member Abstract: Oscar Micheaux was a luminary who served as an agent of racial uplift, with a unique message to share with the world on behalf of the culturally marginalized African Americans. He produced projects that conveyed the complexity of the true black experience with passion and creative courage. His films empowered black audiences and challenged conventional stereotypes of black culture and potential.
    [Show full text]
  • Exodusters Itinerary
    Exodusters Itinerary The Great Exodus of 1879 was a mass movement of 20,000 African Americans from the Southern United States to counties in Kansas following the Civil War. John Brown and his fiery abolitionist friends combined with the anti-slavery Civil War reputation of “Bleeding Kansas” made it seem a fair place where freed men and women and their families would be welcome. Spend a day on the Kansas Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway as you trace the Exoduster migration and settlement in Barton and Stafford Counties. Begin at the Martin Cemetery in Stafford County and end in Barton County. The tour will take you to local cemeteries, museums and memorials to experience the stories of Exodusters, Cris Collier This tour will also take you through Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and Cheyenne Byway Marketing Coordinator Bottoms Wildlife Area, where you will discover the natural wonders of our extraordinary Great Bend CVB piece of the planet. P.O. Box 274 3007 10th Street Great Bend, KS 67530 Stafford County, Kansas P: 620-792-2750 F: 620-792-7959 Stop 1: Martin Cemetery [email protected] Corner of NW 10 Ave & US-50 HWY, south of St. John. GPS Coordinates: 37.9564, -98.7745 www.KansasByway.com Established in 1906 and last used in 1954, this small, serene cemetery on US Barton County Claflin Highway 50 is populated by Exodusters and their descendants. Freed slaves Ellinwood settled in this part of Kansas beginning in 1879. By 1914 the African American Great Bend Hoisington population of Stafford County was 425. Stafford County Hudson Stop 2: Stafford Cemetery Stafford St.
    [Show full text]
  • Badges of Slavery : the Struggle Between Civil Rights and Federalism During Reconstruction
    University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-2013 Badges of slavery : the struggle between civil rights and federalism during reconstruction. Vanessa Hahn Lierley 1981- University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Lierley, Vanessa Hahn 1981-, "Badges of slavery : the struggle between civil rights and federalism during reconstruction." (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 831. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/831 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BADGES OF SLAVERY: THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN CIVIL RIGHTS AND FEDERALISM DURING RECONSTRUCTION By Vanessa Hahn Liedey B.A., University of Kentucky, 2004 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of History University of Louisville Louisville, KY May 2013 BADGES OF SLAVERY: THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN CIVIL RIGHTS AND FEDERALISM DURING RECONSTRUCTION By Vanessa Hahn Lierley B.A., University of Kentucky, 2004 A Thesis Approved on April 19, 2013 by the following Thesis Committee: Thomas C. Mackey, Thesis Director Benjamin Harrison Jasmine Farrier ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my husband Pete Lierley who always showed me support throughout the pursuit of my Master's degree.
    [Show full text]
  • Legislative Resolution 351
    LR351 LR351 ONE HUNDRED SECOND LEGISLATURE FIRST SESSION LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION 351 Introduced by Council, 11; Cook, 13. WHEREAS, for more than 130 years, Juneteenth National Freedom Day has been the oldest and only African-American holiday observed in the United States; and WHEREAS, Juneteenth is also known as Emancipation Day, Emancipation Celebration, Freedom Day, and Jun-Jun; and WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the strong survival instinct of African Americans who were first brought to this country stacked in the bottom of slave ships in a month-long journey across the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Middle Passage; and WHEREAS, approximately 11.5 million African Americans survived the voyage to the New World. The number that died is likely greater; and WHEREAS, events in the history of the United States which led to the Civil War centered around sectional differences between the North and the South that were based on the economic and social divergence caused by the existence of slavery; and WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States in 1861, and he believed and stated that the paramount objective of the Civil War was to save the Union rather than save or destroy slavery; and -1- LR351 LR351 WHEREAS, President Lincoln also stated his wish was that all men everywhere could be free, thus adding to a growing anticipation by slaves that their ultimate liberty was at hand; and WHEREAS, in 1862, the first clear signs that the end of slavery was imminent came when laws abolishing slavery in the territories
    [Show full text]
  • Civil War Drama Circle Directions: the Entire Class Will Sit in a Large Circle
    Civil War Drama Circle Directions: The entire class will sit in a large circle. Each student will preview a card for fluency/understanding. Students are expected to stand and go to the middle of the circle to act out their part of the Drama Circle. Practice with students first, and then perform the Drama Circle from Beginning to end. 1. (Start Card) 2. After Harriet Tubman sings, Say in a booming voice, “I am stand and say (like a Harriet Tubman leading gentleman), “I am Frederick slaves to freedom on the Douglass, abolitionist and Underground Railroad”, and friend of Lincoln, please lend sing one line of “Follow the me an ear.” (Hold your hand Drinking Gourd.” to your ear) 3. When Frederick Douglass 4. After Lincoln writes the says to listen, pretend to sit Emancipation Proclamation and write and say, “Abraham say, “I am Harriet Beecher Lincoln here, writing the Stowe, abolitionist and Emancipation Proclamation author of Uncle Tom’s to free the slaves.” “I must Cabin.” “My book will bring end slavery and keep the the evils of slavery to light.” United States together.” (Do a curtsey with your dress) 5. When Stowe curtsies, say “I 6. After Sojourner Truth gives am Sojourner Truth; I her speech (March to the escaped from slavery and circle) and say, “Ulysses S. became an abolitionist and Grant at your service; I am fought for women’s rights.” the General of the Union (With one arm extended) Army and will later become say, “Truth is powerful and it president of the United prevails.” States.” (March back to seat) 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Land Hunger in the Abolitionist Imagination, 1865-1872
    Land Hunger in the Abolitionist Imagination, 1865-1872 Ramsay Eyre Undergraduate Senior Thesis Department of History, Columbia University April 14, 2021 Seminar Advisor: Professor Jude Webre Second Reader: Professor Richard R. John 2 of 68 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1: “Your slaveholder is ever a land monopolist” ............................................................. 15 Chapter 2: “I want to see the State alive” ...................................................................................... 24 Chapter 3: “Incalculable benefits to the whole people” ................................................................ 33 Chapter 4: “At present, it is not to be hoped for” .......................................................................... 48 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 61 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 65 3 of 68 Acknowledgments First, I must thank my teachers, without whom this thesis would not exist. Professor Richard R. John has been an intellectual mentor for me since I first joined his team of research assistants
    [Show full text]
  • Juneteenth” Comes Ployer and Free Laborer
    J UNETEENTH 92 C ELEBRATIONS UNETEENTH is the oldest celebration in the and the connection h eretofore existing be- nation to commemorate the end of slavery in tween them becomes that between em- J the United States. The word “Juneteenth” comes ployer and free laborer. from a colloquial pronunciation of “June 19th,” which With this announcement the last 250,000 slaves in is the date celebrations commemorate. the United States were effectively freed. Afterward In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the many of the former slaves left Texas. As they moved to Emancipation Proclamation, offi - other states to fi nd family mem- cially freeing slaves. However, bers and start new lives, they car- word of the Proclamation did not ried news of the June 19th event reach many parts of the country with them. In subsequent decades right away, and instead the news former slaves and their descendants spread slowly from state to state. continued to commemorate June The slow spread of this important 19th and many even made pilgrim- news was i n part because the A mer- ages back to Galveston, Texas to ican Civil War had not yet ended. celebrate the event. However, in 1865 the Civil War Most of the celebrations ini- ended and Union Army soldiers tially took place in rural areas and began spreading the news of the included activities such as fi shing, war’s end and Lincoln’s Emanci- barbeques, and family reunions. pation Proclamation. Church grounds were also often On June 19, 1865, Major Gen- the sites for these celebrations. As eral Gordon Granger and U nion more and more African Americans Army soldiers arrived in Galves- improved their economic condi- ton, Texas.
    [Show full text]
  • Juneteenth, the Commemoration of the End of Slavery in the United States, Is Celebrated by Black Americans Every June 19Th
    To the LSU SVM Community, We recognize the pain and suffering of many of the black members of our SVM family. We are celebrating Juneteenth, and in light of the recent events, Stephanie Johnson has compiled a list of resources here for those in need (see below for a full list). We see you, we care and we are listening to your needs. Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, is celebrated by Black Americans every June 19th. Read More About Juneteenth Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, will be celebrated by Black Americans on Friday, June 19th amid a national reckoning on race prompted by the police killing of George Floyd and the sweeping demonstrations that followed. Here is information about the holiday, reprinted from the news article "What to know about Juneteenth, the emancipation holiday" by NBC News correspondent Daniella Silva. The article can be read in full here. On June 19, 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger arrived with Union soldiers in Galveston, Texas, and announced to enslaved Africans Americans that the Civil War had ended and they were free — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. At the time Lincoln issued the proclamation, there were minimal Union troops in Texas to enforce it, according to Juneteenth.com. But with the surrender of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee two months earlier and the arrival of Granger’s troops, the Union forces were now strong enough to enforce the proclamation. The holiday, which gets its name from the combination of June and Nineteenth, is also known as Emancipation Day, Juneteenth Independence Day and Black Independence Day.
    [Show full text]